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Glite Dictionary
to make an ass out of you and me

to make an ass out of you and me

1 9.9
To do something that makes both people look foolish
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : dejar en ridículo
  • Be careful with your assumptions, as they can easily make an ass out of you and me.

And the quote says when you assume, you make an ASS out of you and me.

Examples

  • When we jump to conclusions, it often makes an ass out of you and me.

  • I make an ass out of you and me.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "There's a saying that if you "assume" anything, it makes an ass out of you and me.

    Blog text (3)

  • Don't assume you know what I mean; it might make an ass out of you and me.

Synonyms

to make a blunder
vsto make an ass out of you and me
1 4.2

Do something that is a serious and embarrassing mistake

is the same error but caused specifically by assuming things wrong
to make a boo-boo
vsto make an ass out of you and me
  • Baby Talk
1 8.4

To do something wrong by accident in a small, silly way

is more serious, arising from assuming facts and leading to bigger embarrassment
to pull a fuckbonnet
vsto make an ass out of you and me
  • Offensive
9.9

To make a silly mistake that makes people laugh at you

is similar but stems from wrong assumptions rather than general foolishness
to drop a bollock
vsto make an ass out of you and me
  • Offensive
9.9

To make a serious, embarrassing mistake by being careless

causes similar embarrassment but arises from making unfounded assumptions

How Mistaken

guess
768 1.0
to make an ass out of you and me
  • Offensive
1 9.9
to presume
136 4.9
to assume
∞ 3.2

Surface Forms

make an ass out of you and me infinitive
made an ass out of you and me past
made an ass out of you and me past participle
making an ass out of you and me present participle
makes an ass out of you and me third person singular

Morphology

make + an + ass + out + of + you + and + me

The phrase composes transparently: 'make' (cause) + 'an ass' (a fool) + 'out of' (to turn into), so the overall meaning 'cause you and me to look foolish' is directly inferable from the parts. The causative/transformation pattern 'make X out of Y' is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should grasp the intended meaning.

Etymology

The idiom make an ass out of you and me comes from a joke about the word assume: if you split assume into ass + u + me, it looks like making ass of you and me. So it means 'to make a fool of both people'.